She whips her head around, piercing me with her glare. “Sure. But who are you to judge him, Rowan? You can’t seem to commit to anyone for more than one night, or at least so I hear.”
Anger sparks inside of me. I haven’t fucking looked at another woman since she moved in, but of course, she hasn’t noticed that.
“You’ve been in my bed for far more than one night,” I growl.
“I’m theonlyperson in your bed.”
“Do you want to change that?” I challenge. “Judging by your performance at my office yesterday, it seems like maybe you do.”
Her cheeks redden. “You’re an asshole. You know we have a deal.”
Frustration fans through me. “A deal. So all of this is you working overtime to meet the requirements of our deal?”
“Are you really asking that question? Or are you just trying to provoke me?”
I’m pushing it, but I’m too annoyed with her to keep myself in check. “Tell me, what went through your head when you felt how hard I was for you at dinner?”
She sputters. “W-what do you mea— What kind of a ques—“
“It’s a simple fucking question. What went through your head?”
Her fingers flex into tense claws on her knees. “Nothing. I drew a blank.”
“Really? Because I bet if I’d slid my hand between your thighs just then, I’d have found you wet. And why do pussies get wet, Sunshine? I’m no genius, but I know a thing or two about women’s anatomy. Women get wet when they’re aroused. So what’s arousing to women? That depends on the individual. But given what I know of you, let me venture a guess. I think the image that went through your head when you felt how fucking hard I was for you was me and you in a dark, empty corner of a library—you know, the kind with all those fancy books you love so much—and you’re in a dress, one of those little fucking dresses that billow out from the waist. You’ve got your hands up on a bookshelf, your face eye level with a shelf of Italian poets, and you’re holding onto it for dear life because I’m railing you. I’m railing yousohard and I’ve got my fingers over your clit, and your hair wrapped around my fist, and I’m biting your neck while you moan my name and beg me to fuck you even harder. That’s what I bet went through your head.”
There's silence and then a harsh intake of breath.
I tighten my hands around the wheel and look at her. “Did I get that right?”
She’s staring at me with wide eyes and a parted mouth. Her cheeks burn a bright red.
I huff. “Would you look at that? I’m so fucking right I stunned you into silence.”
She wraps her palm around the side of her neck, and I see it bob on a swallow before I turn back to face the road. We’ve reached our street.
“I have no desire to be another one of your conquests,” she says, sounding out of breath. “I’m not like you. I don’t sleep with others on a whim.”
“The rest of the town already thinks you’ve slept with me.” We pull into the driveway. “You might as well do it and have some fun for once.”
“I don’t need the kind of fun that leaves my heart broken. And I’ve long since learned I can’t control what this town thinks, but I can control whatIthink. And what I think is that for you, sex is a crutch. Whatever pain you’re nursing, sex helps you forget it. But the relief is short-lived, which is why you move on so quickly in search of your next distraction. I’m not a distraction, Rowan. I’m a person. And I deserve more than that.”
She’s out of the truck before I can utter another word.
It’s for the best, because I’ve got nothing to say to that. She’s right. I slept with those women because they were a distraction from the bored dissatisfaction permeating my new life.
I drag my palms over my face. No wonder she doesn’t want to get involved with me if that’s all I can give her.
She’s pure, good, and selfless. If I want to have her, let alone keep her, I have to become someone better.
The question is…can I?
CHAPTER 26
BLAKE
“Ugh, I wish I was going to the party with you,” Del grumbles.
I squeeze the phone between my shoulder and my ear as I slide the hot iron over my dress. “Don’t you have your company’s holiday party coming up this week?”
